So Uh Was There a Deadline for AIG to Give Back the Bonuses Or...?

Since the whole bonus thing got snuck into the Stimulus bill anyway, I can't possibly imagine a scenario where the angry masses would have had the foresight to demand a date for AIG executives to return their bonus cash?

When word spread earlier this year that American International Group had paid more than $165 million in retention bonuses at the division that had precipitated the company's downfall, outrage erupted, with employees getting death threats and President Obama urging that every legal avenue be pursued to block the payments.

New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo threatened to publicize the recipients' names, prompting executives at AIG Financial Products to hastily agree to return about $45 million in bonuses by the end of the year.

But as the final days of 2009 tick away, a majority of that money remains unpaid. Only about $19 million has been given back, according to a report by the special inspector general for the government's bailout program.

Some of the employees who had offered to return their bonuses have instead left the company, taking their cash with them.